Research&Development

SKF bearings play their part in Cardiff University’s 2017 Formula Student triumph

A sponsor since 2014, SKF continues to provide support for Cardiff Racing – Cardiff University’s triumphant 2017 season Formula Student team – supplying bearings for the winning car’s suspension and drive train.

The 56-strong Cardiff Racing team beat off fierce competition at this year’s event, which took place at Silverstone over a weekend in late July, to be crowned Class 1 Overall Winners. The Cardiff team is the first UK outright winner of the competition since the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) took over the running of the annual European event in 1998.

A keen supporter and sponsor of the team, SKF supplied a range of bearings for the car and provided technical assistance on bearings selection and installation throughout the 2017 car design programme. The team’s design goals included reducing friction losses in the drive train and suspension components, and achieving maximum reliability of the car during the competition’s gruelling trials.

Eight SKF GE10 C maintenance-free spherical plain bearings are used in the support of the wishbone staking plates. These units are available in two formats: steel against PTFE or steel against sintered bronze, both of which are suitable for applications requiring very low friction.

Meanwhile, the hubs, drive train and steering mount assembly are equipped with more than 10 SKF type 619/8-2RS1 sealed deep groove ball bearings. A very widely used type of bearing, SKF can supply these robust, highly versatile, low-maintenance units in many designs, variants and sizes.